To Build a Home
by darveysecretsanta2018
Summary: Darvey has recently become a couple and Harvey shyly ask Donna if she wants to spend Christmas at Lily's with Marcus and his kids. As soon as they arrive, Lily can see that she is the special someone Harvey was talking about.


Another fic present to unwrap, my lovelies :) Don't forget to thank the Santas for working overtime this year

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Prompt by cla (lovatoftwalsh): darvey has recently become a couple and harvey shyly ask her if she wants to spend Christmas at Lily's with Marcus and his kids, and as soon as they arrive, lily can see that she is the special someone Harvey was talking about

* * *

She watches him warily from her position on the couch, sock clad feet meeting his and a now forgotten iPad in her hands. He was perched on the opposite side of the leather couch, brows furrowed as he read through his own tablet, or so appeared to be.

Donna tilts her head, contemplates for half a second what to ask him before the words leave her lips, "Need help with the big words?"

Harvey's head shoots up, her voice having woken him from his momentary reality interlude. "What?"

She smiles at him, lips widening just enough to make the corners of her eyes crinkle. A small part inside chastises herself for how smitten she still appears to be, a mere few months into their relationship. But she lets those thoughts subside, lets the warmth that his mere presence evokes encapsulate her completely if not only because she knows she deserves this kind of unfiltered joy- after too many damn years of playing near misses with him.

"You've got that look on your face."

"Which one?" He murmurs, setting his iPad to the side as he gives her a crooked smile.

"The one that's telling me a whole lot more than you are, mister."

He sighs like he already knew he was caught, can't even find himself to be surprised by her uncanny ability to know when something's on his mind. Still, the words he wants to voice are caught somewhere in his throat for some godforsaken reason he's sure his recent therapist would love to overanalyze. He shakes off any excess anxiety the best way he knows how.

"You've been distracting me. How can I concentrate when you're here looking like that?" His voice drips with years of perfected charm, a dash of arrogance thrown in with a wink he throws her way.

Donna rolls her eyes out of habit, foot playfully nudging him before she curls her legs to herself, crossing them enough to stand up straighter from her position.

"I know what you're doing and it's not going to work."

Her miffed tone is almost enough to let him back down. But they're still new at this whole relationship thing, and it's somewhere in between still finding their footing and being completely comfortable that he knows he can mess with her without too much fear of ending up in the doghouse.

"Are you sure of that, Paulsen?"

"Harvey,"

It's that concern that drips with his name alone that makes him surrender, and he straightens up just as she had, if only to give himself a buffer to gather his thoughts.

"I-" he runs a hand through his hair, gel-free and carrying that weekend mussed look that drives her crazy in the best ways, but she's yet to admit that much. "I got a call from my mom this morning."

"Is she okay?"

Her face immediately transforms with worry, and he just as quickly smiles to ease her mind. "Yeah, no, everything's fine, she just- uh, well she asked if we- as in you and I-" her brows rise with a mix of annoyance and amusement, watching him fumble with his own words.

"Would you like to order a vowel, Vanna?"

He tilts his head at her, but eventually carries on, taking a breath to steady himself before he lets the words fly out of his mouth with any last ounce of trepidation. "She asked me if we would like to spend Christmas with her and my brother."

Donna blinks, lets the words he'd so rapidly spit out catch up with her for a moment. "Really?"

"You sound surprised."

"No, I'm just trying to wrap my mind around the mental whiplash you just threw at me."

Harvey knits his forehead, "I don't follow."

She resists the urge to roll her eyes again, opts to hurl a small Christmas throw pillow- curtesy of Donna's decorations take over- at him instead.

"What the hell was that for?" He frowns, holding the plush red and white pillow to his chest.

"You made it sound like your mother was asking one of us to donate a kidney or something. You can be really dramatic sometimes."

Harvey's mouth opens and closes, a comeback at the tip of his tongue, but knows arguing with his lavish girlfriend was futile. "Well, she's not," he clears his throat, feeling slightly better about the whole situation. "So…?"

"So, what?"

"What do you think?

"About what?" She gives him a faux oblivious look, head cocking to the side, almost daring him to break.

"You're incorrigible, you know that?" Harvey sighs, but the corner of his lips turn up, quickly matching the smirk she throws her way, and God he loves and hates the effect this woman has on him.

"I love watching you squirm," she finally gloats.

He shakes his head, but the teasing has barely done anything to dull the worry in his chest. It'd been an almost touch and go relationship from day one. Moments of doubts had trickled on them from both ends, petty arguments that turned into make-up sex compensated for everything else, but it was still early enough that he occasionally found himself on the cusp of panicking. And now, since his mother had called, pleading voice all too eagerly begging him to meet his "latest girl" his mind had been engulfed with a mired of fears and questions.

"You're nervous?"

He hesitates for half a second, contemplates on lying to her with an exaggerated wave of dismissiveness, but knows she'd see right through him like she always does, like she always had. "Yeah, kind of."

Her features soften, eyes following the crinkled lines on his face, down to where he nervously swallows what she surmises to be a lump of worry lodged in his trachea. She bites her lip, sets her iPad to the side and crawls forward until she was situated on his lap. The disappearing sun cast a soft glow around his apartment, and she uses a manicured finger to trace the fine lines on his face until she met his lips.

"That is adorable."

Harvey rolls his eyes, amused and thankful for her knack of calming skills she so effortlessly carries. He catches her pajama clad hips with his hands, helps her settle on him until she's completely straddling him. It takes him a moment to breathe through his nose, wills the blood rushing south to return to his brain so they could continue having this semi-serious conversation.

"I'm just- not exactly used to having my mom meet my girlfriends. It's a little weird."

"She's never met any of your past girlfriends?"

There's something in her tone that makes him hesitate, forfeits a lie that tempts to make its way out, but swallows it down with a forged boldness because something in him is telling him she already knows the truth of her question. He suddenly feels cornered because Donna Paulsen isn't just his friend slash colleague slash maybe something more… she's his girlfriend and partner in every sense of the word, and he knows he can't coward behind any more facade if he wants them to work. Not just because he knows she can see right through him, but because he knows he owes her nothing less than the truth.

"Not exactly…"

He lets the words drag out, watches her nod in understanding, and he's glad for that unspoken rhythm they've mastered with years of working together. The last thing he wanted was to mention his ex- the very one that drove them further apart than anything or anyone else altogether before. He takes a breath, wanes out a smile to help ease them in this moment.

"It's different this time," he says softly.

Her brows knit, "Because it's Christmas?"

"Because it's you."

Her heart constricts at the way he says 'you', like it holds all the answers in that one word, and she knows with certainty that he's scared something will happen that will drive them apart- something he's voiced to her a few times in the recent past. They both know they're it for each other, but she tries not to let the seriousness of it deter them from having fun, from venturing away from the them that they've always been, with more physicality to boot.

Her hand had found its way to his, thumb rubbing soothing circles on his skin, "Do you want me to go?"

"Do you want to go?"

She can't help the smile that crosses her features, having realized not too long ago that he always had the habit of making sure she was okay with whatever decision they were making, despite whatever he had wanted, or not.

"I would like to meet your family, Harvey."

"Good," he breathes out in relief, "so do I."

She tilts her head again, letting the few whisks of hair from her messy bun fall to the side. His hand automatically reaches out to tuck a strand behind her ear. "But…?"

"But what?"

"Something's still bugging you, isn't it?" She pokes his side playfully, evoking a throaty laugh from his lips as he slightly jumps on his spot. The action makes her move forward, head gently falling on his shoulder, and instead of straightening up, she laughs softly and decides to settle in the warmth of his arms. The day had been on the colder side, the New York winter having bathed the city in a sheath of white, and the two had lounged around the apartment as per their routine lazy Sundays.

"Spit it out, Specter," Donna teases softly, her lips meeting his ear before she gazes up at him.

"I don't know if I'm ready for all the interrogation questions from my mom and brother."

She laughs loudly at that, the sound almost sinister in nature like she'd already anticipated his deepest fears and instead of finding solidarity with him, she found it amusing.

"Well, I'm sorry to break it to you, Harvey, but get ready to answer a thousand and one questions on when you're going to propose and how many kids we intend to have."

Donna almost bursts into another fit of laughter when she sees the way his eyes widen, face almost paling in fear. She bites her lip instead, but doesn't bother in hiding her amusement, "Oh, hon, you're so cute when you're naive."

He purses his lips, tries not to let her words get to him- or at the very least show her that they did. "I think you and my mom will get along just fine."

"You think?"

"Now who's the one who's nervous?" He gives her a jackass of a smile that she tempts to slap away, but figures there's a better way to get a rise out of him, so she grinds down on him.

"I don't think you're in a position to tease me right now."

"See, that's not fair," he croaks out, "I'm rarely in a position of power."

"If you wanted to be on top, all you had to do was ask."

"Nah," he grins, mirroring her own smirk, "I like it when you take charge."

Her arms wind around his neck, playing with the ends of his hair, "I can't wait to tell your mom that she raised a submissive son."

His smirk turns into a horrified frown, "Donna…"

"What?"

"I really hope you don't share… those… details with my mother."

"I think she knows we're not celibate, Harvey."

He sighs, cringing the tiniest bit as he nods, "I know, that's the problem."

She finally laughs, pecking his lips, "I think this is going to be fun."

…

They stand side by side in front of the two-story brick house, flakes of snow covering the home. The hallmark movie view in front of her makes Donna smile, thinking about how it looked like the perfect home to raise kids in. But soon enough, her smile turns into a sad one when she thinks about the lack of children taking residence there. While the divorce was yet to be finalized, Harvey had told Donna that Katie had taken the kids to visit her parents for the holidays before they were officially moved out. It had broken Donna's heart- not just for Marcus' sake, but for the kids themselves and Harvey, who she knew loved to see his niece and nephew- the few chances he had to actually see them.

"You ready?" She finally breathes out, rubbing soothing circles on his hand.

"No."

Donna waits a beat, "You ready?"

"Yeah," he squeezes her hand in confirmation, finally reaching out to press the doorbell.

Not a full minute goes by when a woman Donna immediately identifies as Harvey's mom opens the door. "Well, I was starting to wonder if you two would ever decide to come inside."

Harvey smiles, "We're still wondering that, actually."

Donna watches the exchange with peak interest, not having expected the playfulness to be reciprocated by her boyfriend so effortlessly. She can't help but let a wide smile grace her features as she watches Lily cross the threshold to hold Harvey in her arms, her son returning the embrace without hesitation.

"He's awful, this one," Lily turns to Donna now, eyes crinkling with growing mirth, "I hope you're keeping him in line."

"I invested in a harness, but that wasn't enough to tame this one," she playfully nudges him.

"Oh, I love her already," Lily's eyes light up even more, facing Harvey before turning back to the redhead in front of her, "You must be Donna."

"The one and only," she grins. She was about to reach her hand out to shake Lily's hand, when the older woman took a step and before Donna knew it, she was engulfed in her arms. She lets out a surprised and quiet, "oh" before accepting the hug. She catches Harvey's gaze over his mother's shoulder, and can't help but widen her lips at the look he gives her- somewhere crossed between amused and pleased.

"My son has told me so much about you. Well, as much as he can. He's not very talkative most of the time, but I've managed to weasel out a couple of stories about you."

Donna laughs, "It does take a couple of weaseling tries before you get him to budge."

Lily shakes her head, "He's a stubborn one, that's for sure. You'd have to tie him down to get him to share anything."

"Now that's just kinky."

"Donna,"

Both women laugh at the semi-horrified look on Harvey's face, and Donna reaches up to playfully pat him on the cheek. "Lily, I think we should get him inside before his face freezes like this."

The older woman chuckles, patting his other cheek, "Remind me to show you his baby pictures later."

Harvey's mouth drops, a faux pout quickly forming on his lips before he looks to Donna and she resists the urge to kiss it off. Instead, she chuckles along and begins to follow Lily inside. Taking a few steps, she notices Harvey hadn't moved and turns back to see her boyfriend frozen in place, a still somewhat hesitant expression on his face.

"Come on, pretty," Donna tuts with a smirk, "let's go inside before your balls freeze over too."

…

The three adults walk down a narrow corridor, Lily having given Donna a brief tour of the downstairs area before they made their way to what Donna had surmised to be the kitchen- if not for the smell that arose.

"Hey, I thought I told you to be here by five," Marcus playfully scolds as soon as the three adults moved into kitchen slash family room area. He was wiping his hands with a dish towel, making his way round the kitchen island to meet his brother and guest with a smile.

"Sorry, we had a bit of a beauty emergency," Harvey defends.

Marcus turns to Donna, head tilting to Harvey's direction, "So, what was it? The hair or the shoes?"

"The hair," Donna replies without missing a beat.

Harvey rolls his eyes, "Is it 'gang up on Harvey day' and nobody told me?"

"Oh, such a baby my big brother is," Marcus shakes his head, reaching over to meet Harvey half way in a hug. The brothers pat each other's back, twin smiles adorning their faces despite the teases. "I hope you brought extra diapers," he directs the statement to Donna now.

"Not to mention his safety blanket and night light."

"He still afraid of the dark?"

"And loud scary noises," Donna throws back.

"Please tell me you're marrying her," Marcus turns toward Harvey for a second, quickly gathering a surprised but amused Donna in a hug.

Apparently, the Specters were big huggers, she muses to herself.

"Marcus," Harvey all but growls.

"God, I've missed seeing that look on your face," the younger Specter sighs with dramatic wistfulness.

"Boys, behave," Lily shakes her head, but smiles nonetheless.

"He started it," the brothers state at the same time.

"Gosh, I really hope you two have girls. I mean, don't get me wrong, boys are great, but it'd be good to see more estrogen around here."

This time, it was Donna who was left speechless by one of the Specter's bluntness, mouth dropping at Lily's words. She catches Harvey's gaze at the corner of her eyes, finding it eerie to see him watching her, like he was gauging her own reaction and using it to fuel his response.

"You still think this is fun?" Harvey whispers loudly, making Marcus and Lily laugh.

Donna clears her throat, regaining some semblance of control and clarity through her best acting skills, "I think it's only fair I get to see those baby pictures of yours before dinner."

Marcus laughs, "Why don't you and mom go into the family room. I'll take this one hostage in the kitchen so he can help me finish getting dinner set up."

"Will Bobby be joining us?" Harvey directs the question to his mom, finally taking notice that the man was nowhere to be seen, and his mother hadn't mentioned anything about him even over the phone, when she had told him that Katie and the kids weren't going to be joining them.

"His niece just went into labor last night, so he took a flight to North Carolina to be there," his mom explains with a smile.

Harvey just nods, believing his mother's smile was genuine enough that she didn't mind spending the holidays away from the older man. He also didn't bother asking why she hadn't gone with him, having a gut feeling that she'd wanted to stay to spend Christmas with her sons, and more specifically, because she couldn't wait to meet Donna.

"So, what do you say, Donna?" Lily turns to the redhead, "shall we laugh and dote over some of the cutest baby Harvey pictures over some wine?"

Donna grins, "You're speaking directly to my soul there, Lily."

Harvey sighs, taking hold of Donna's wrist as he watches his mom carry a bottle of white wine and two glasses toward the couch at the far end of the room, "I can't believe you're about to have access to new blackmail material."

"I can't believe we didn't come here sooner," she kisses the corner of his mouth, eliciting a small smile as she turns on her heels and follows Lily into the family room.

"Grab an apron, hot shot," Marcus turns toward his brother, smirking at the longing smile that had taken over his face, "please tell me you at least know how to make a salad."

Harvey rolls his eyes, catching Donna's gaze for a split second before turning his full attention to his brother, hurling a dishcloth his way and laughing when it smacks him in the face.

…

"Let me guess," Donna states as she traces the sepia toned picture over the plastic covering, "First steps?"

Lily laughs, eyeing the photograph with light amusement, "He fell once and wouldn't try walking again for another week."

Donna mirrors her mirth, turning the page to catch a naked baby Specter taking a bath with a rubber duck, toothy grin staring at the camera, "Oh, I'm going to give him so much shit for this one. I still can't believe he was a blonde baby."

"You never saw baby pictures of him before?"

"I saw some of him when he was a little kid, but not this young, though. And by then his hair was getting darker."

Lily nods by her side, tapping the glass of wine in her hands absentmindedly, "What about you?" She begins softly after a while, watching Donna turning the pages of the old album, "You ever think about having a little Specter or two?"

Donna pauses on a page showing a toddler Harvey holding baby Marcus, "You know, I teased Harvey about you asking these questions, but I'm not sure I was prepared for them," she laughs nervously as she reaches for her own glass of white, hoping it would give her some kind of bravery boost.

"I only say it because I can see the way my son looks at you. It's - well, I know I haven't been a big part of his life in the last couple years, I'm sure you're aware," Lily pauses with a sigh, and Donna gives her a sad smile, "but in the times I have seen him, including during the last time I saw him, he never looked or sounded as happy as he does now."

Donna smiles, feeling her cheeks warming at the sentiment, "We haven't really talked about it, about having kids. I mean, we've briefly discussed it, we know we would like to have it as an option, but…"

"But…?" Lily gently encourages.

"Isn't it too soon? I mean we've only been together for a few months."

Lily smiles at the younger woman knowingly, reaching a hand over to squeeze hers, "But you've known each other for a long time."

Donna nods, "Over thirteen years."

"So? Don't you think you're well past worrying about whether things are moving too fast or if it's too soon? I don't mean to pry, nor am I saying you should try for a baby tomorrow, but if there's anything I've learned in my old age is that you can't keep putting things off. Time moves too quickly, and you don't want to look back and wonder 'what if'?"

Donna finds herself gnawing on her bottom lip, Lily's words hitting a well-known and still sore spot in her heart. She's not naive enough to know she and Harvey were each other's biggest obstacle for being together. In fact, she's still not quite sure they managed to hurdle past the last couple of roadblocks that had stood between them before they dove head first into their romantic relationship. But despite Lily's words, and how much they'd been through already, there's still a trickle of doubt piling in the back of her mind, bringing her uncertainty and overanalyzing everything. It annoyed her mostly for the fact that she chastised Harvey for being a commitment phobe from time to time, but she wasn't far behind and she'd lie if she said that the thought of them getting married or having a baby any time soon didn't petrify her.

"Now, I know what you're thinking, but from one mother to- well, hopefully a mother-to-be sometime in the future… there's never a perfect time to have a child. It's always going to be scary, and it's always going to feel like you're not prepared enough, but it's worth it. Plus, I won't lie and say I don't have an ulterior motive for telling you this, seeing as I'm notorious for spoiling my grandchildren."

Donna gives the woman a genuine chuckle then, shaking her head as she glances back down at the album. She traces her hand over the young faces of the Specter brothers, suddenly imagining herself holding a young child, strawberry blonde hair and her daddy's cheeky grin- a perfect mixture of them both.

"You're imagining it, aren't you? How cute they'd be?"

"You're one persistent person, Lily," Donna sighs, but gives the woman a smile, "I thought I was the only mind-reader in Harvey's life."

Lily laughs, "A mother just knows," she pauses for a moment, face turning a bit more serious, "which brings me to something else I've been meaning to talk to you about."

Donna knits her brow, curiosity peaking suddenly at the tone shift in her voice but remains quiet and nods for Lily to continue.

"The last time I went to visit my son, I made the mistake of assuming something I shouldn't have, but I don't think I've gotten it wrong this time. I thought I saw a happy man that time, but now I know how wrong I'd been, and I only blame myself for that, because I didn't know him as well as I should have, as well as I'd wanted to. But now, seeing you two together… I can see how much my son loves you."

Donna nods, feeling a lump forming in the back of her throat, "I love him too," she manages to whisper.

"I know that," Lily smiles, "Which is how I know, and I wanted to thank you."

"Thank me? For what?"

"For being the one to convince Harvey that he should go see me- forgive me and give me a chance after all these years."

Donna's mouth drops, "He told you?"

"In a way," Lily smiles, "we went to dinner and he told me that someone very special had convinced him to come see me. I made the mistake of assuming it was his old- girlfriend, the therapist, but by her reaction I had figured I assumed wrong."

Donna blinks, a plethora of thoughts running through her head. It felt like pieces of a missing puzzle were finally fitting back together in her mind. What happened with Paula was something she never wanted to relive nor think about, but thinking back to those months, the timing and what had transpired with Harvey telling her what Paula had wanted, her resigning and Harvey choosing her over his ex- it all made sense. The finality of the why and how.

"I-" Donna clears her throat, "I had no idea."

"That boy has never really worn his heart on his sleeve, but I could tell just by the way he spoke about you that you meant a lot to him, I just had no idea it was you, but I'm so glad that I could finally meet you, so I could thank you in person."

"There's no need to thank me, Lily," Donna says softly, fearing her voice would break if she spoke any higher.

"Nonsense, you gave me my son back, I don't think he would have ever gone to see me if it weren't for you."

Donna shakes her head, "He would have. It might have taken him longer, but I knew all he needed was a push. He wanted to take that step, but Harvey sometimes just needs an extra shove or two."

"Either way," Lily clasps her hand in Donna's, "I'm glad you did. And I'm glad it was you and not-" she lets the words hang in the air, Donna having an inkling that the older woman had that therapist hanging on the tip of her tongue.

She bites her lip, amused and touched by her words, "And I'm so glad I could finally meet you. Future grandmother of my kids, and all"

Donna wishes she had a camera just to capture the wide grin on Lily's face, and it takes little to no effort to match it herself.

"Now, before those two finish dinner or burn down the kitchen with their bickering, I believe there's a couple of home videos stashed around here somewhere…"

Donna's eyes widen comically, "Oh please tell me there's something highly embarrassing caught on tape."

"How does Harvey's first school play where he ran off stage crying sound?"

"Like the perfect Christmas present for me, Lily. Like the perfect Christmas present."

…

Dinner had come and gone without much of a hitch. Drinks had been shared, and Harvey had teased his brother for cooking for an army, instead of four. They had gathered afterwards on the couch to continue showing Donna some family videos, most of which caused them to erupt in laughter- although it was mostly the three laughing at little Harvey. There were even some moments of bittersweet memories being shared whenever Gordon made an appearance on screen, Donna reaching out to squeeze Harvey's hand, catching his glossy vision and whispering a gentle 'he'd be so proud of you' against him.

Soon enough, however, the day was coming to a close and Harvey and Donna were finally heading out of the Specter home, hours after a three-course meal, watching videos and sharing stories, and exchanging small gifts. Donna had even insisted on buying something for Marcus' kids, telling the young Specter that she would love to meet his children someday, which prompted another invite for them to meet on another occasion in the near future.

"Don't be a stranger, Donna, and I wish you all the luck with this one here," Donna laughs as Marcus gives her a hug goodbye, one last tease on his older brother leaving his lips.

"I'll try to wrangle him once in a while, keep him on his toes," she playfully winks at Harvey who was trying his best to look annoyed, but the curl in his lips said otherwise. He steps up to his brother then, giving him a hug and a light punch on the shoulder.

"Okay, we better go before you start telling my girlfriend any high school stories."

"Oh, man, I'm saving that for Easter."

Lily laughs as she steps up to give her son a hug, "Well, I hope I don't have to wait that long to see you two again," she says as she turns to give the same embrace to Donna, "I would really like to get together before you put a ring on Donna here, although I wouldn't oppose seeing as how neither of you are getting any younger…"

"Mother…" Harvey warns, but his tone lacked any real bite.

"I'm just saying," his mom shrugs, "marriage… kids… they won't be waiting forever, and I certainly would like to see you two get there before my own time is up."

"Don't worry, Lily, if he won't get on his knee within the year, we can send him off to a convent."

Harvey shakes his head, "You're awful. All three of you."

The others share in a light-hearted chuckle, saying their final goodbyes before Donna and Harvey head out the door, coats back on and hands clasping in habit as they make their way down the porch steps.

Harvey watches his girlfriend intently as they make their way to his car, snow falling around them, catching onto her auburn hair and painting it lightly in white, the slowly melting ice sparkling under the street lamps nearby. "You okay?" He asks softly after a beat, noting the faraway look on her face, "My mom didn't make you too uncomfortable with those questions did she, because I-"

She turns to him suddenly, cold hands grabbing his cheeks as she leans up to plant a kiss on his lips. His brows shoot up momentarily, having been caught off guard, but he quickly recovers, gathering her in his arms as he eagerly responds to her soft but pressing kisses. Donna pulls back when she feels his tongue sliding against hers, deciding to part before they give any still awake neighbors a show.

Harvey licks the taste of her off his lips, eyes opening slowly to see Donna's hazel ones gazing up at him. He feels kind of like a school boy then- not uncommon in the recent months with their new relationship flourishing- and he doesn't suppose that the stuttering of his heart will ever cease as long as Donna Paulsen continues to kiss him like that, or at all for that matter.

"Not that I'm complaining, at all," Harvey takes a breath, tucking a hair behind her ear, "but what was that for?"

Donna bites her lip, head cocking to the side as she studies her boyfriend, truly baffled and infatuated all together. "You just- you're a really great person, you know that?"

Harvey smiles softly, pulling her closer still, "So you're kissing and complimenting me? I really must have done something good that I don't know about to get this kind of reaction."

Donna rolls her eyes, smiling despite as she gives him a playful shove, "I was gonna tell you, but now I think I'll just let you sweat it."

"Hey, I don't need a reason for you to kiss me, I'm good as long as it happens," he grins.

"Now, you're just being a cocky asshole," she slaps his chest as she continues to head toward the car.

"Is that any way to call your future husband and father of your kids?"

Donna's jaw slacks, stopping in her tracks to turn and stare up at him. She tentatively reaches out, gently poking his cheek.

"What the hell are you doing?" Harvey asks, confused.

"I'm just making sure it's really you," she says in a dramatic awed voice. He sends her a pseudo glare, "What? One minute you're scared shitless of what your mom and brother would say and now you're joining in. I'm a little freaked out to be honest."

He steps toward her again, wrapping her in a close hold like before, "How about the stuff she said? What I'm saying now? Does that freak you out?"

"Does it freak you out?"

"Donna,"

"Harvey,"

They stare at each other for a good long minute before Harvey breaks, unsurprising to both. He sighs, "I'm freaked out that I'm not so freaked out anymore, if that makes sense."

Donna nods, smiling, "Yeah, I can see that."

"You can?"

She shrugs, "It's not like we haven't talked about it before, I guess now it just seems more…"

"Real?"

"Exactly."

"You think we're ready for that?" Harvey asks with real concern in his voice.

"Well," Donna drawls out, pulling Harvey toward the car again, "according to your mother, apparently you can never be really ready for any of that."

Harvey pauses before rounding to the driver's side, "Exactly what did you and my mother talk about all that time?"

Donna smirks as she opens the passenger door, "Let's just say it was enough to give me more than plenty blackmail material."

Harvey shakes his head, "We're never coming here again."


End file.
